GOALLESS AT SAN SIRO
Serie A
The Rossoneri came away from their game on Good Friday with no goals. It ended 0-0 against Empoli, thanks to some great saves from Perisan. Throughout the course of the 90 minutes, AC Milan tried any which way to score but to no avail. The Tuscan side, who never threatened, held firm at the back. Giroud thought he'd won it in the 89th minute but it was disallowed following a swift VAR check, while a penalty awarded earlier in the match for handball against Ebuehi was overturned following an on-field review. Perisan was there to thwart the Rossoneri for the remainder of the match.
After dropping two points in mid-March against Salernitana, the Rossoneri recorded their second straight draw at home in the league but, again, the team deserved so much more. The aim had been to build on the big win over Napoli and it's the result, more than the performance, that will be reviled today because the Rossoneri penned Empoli back into their own half and created enough chances. There are certainly plenty of positives to take into the first leg of our Champions League quarter-final against Napoli. Forza ragazzi!
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY FROM AC MILAN v EMPOLI
THE MATCH
As expected, Empoli were defensively-minded, closing out all the space in the central areas. The Rossoneri looked to exploit the wide areas and had a great double opportunity after 13 minutes when Rebić was played through delightfully by Saelemaekers, but his shot from inside the box was straight at Perisan; the move carried on with Theo Hernández picking up the ball from Ebuehi, but his shot from a tight angle was again kept out by the visiting keeper. The home side dominated possession but struggled to break down a solid away defensive unit. After 39 minutes, Tonali side-stepped his marker, entered into the box and tried his luck aiming for the far corner, but he didn’t get enough curl on it and Perisan got down well to save. The last chance of the half came on the stroke of half-time, with Rebić receiving a ball from over the top by Tomori, but his left-footed attempt was high and wide.
The same 22 players reappeared and within three minutes Calabria found Ante in the middle of the box, but his header was off-target. It was the captain again a minute later in the thick of the action receiving a ball from Alexis, before his attempt was blocked by the Empoli defence. It was all AC Milan and five minutes after the restart Pobega’s crisp shot flew centimetres past the post. The Rossoneri were awarded a penalty after 58 minutes for a presumed handball by Ebuehi, but the decision was overturned after a VAR check. Coach Pioli decided that was the moment to ring the changes, but the one-way pressure continued. Florenzi hit the post on the volley on 76 minutes, after a Rafa cross got deflected and looped over to the back post; another big chance came seven minutes from the end of normal time when Saelemaekers’ shot got blocked, falling to Oli at the back post, whose shot was again stopped by a diving Perisan and De Winter. The Empoli keeper made a stunning save from Brahim a couple of minutes later, after a lovely back-heel set-up from Giroud. On the stroke of the 90th minute, Giroud found a way past Perisan, from a Florenzi assist, to send the stadium into raptures, but it was disallowed by a VAR review again for handball. It ended at San Siro 0-0.
MATCH DETAILS
AC MILAN 0-0 EMPOLI
AC MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria (62' Florenzi), Thiaw, Tomori, Hernández; Bennacer (62' Díaz), Tonali; Saelemaekers (84' De Ketelaere), Pobega, Rebić (70' Leão); Origi (70' Giroud). Subs.: Mirante, Tătăruşanu; Ballo-Touré, Gabbia, Kjær; Adli, Bakayoko, Krunić, Vranckx; Messias. Coach: Pioli.
EMPOLI (4-3-1-2): Perisan; Ebuehi, De Winter, Luperto, Parisi; Fazzini, Marin (78' Cacace), Bandinelli (64' Grassi); Baldanzi (78' Haas); Caputo (64' Cambiaghi), Piccoli (88' Satriano). Subs.: Štubljar, Ujkani; Stojanović, Walukiewicz; Degli Innocenti, Henderson; Destro, Pjaca, Vignato. Coach.: Zanetti.
Referee: Marcenaro.
Booked: 38' Pobega (M), 92' Cambiaghi (E), 98' Tomori (M)
Match KITs, clothing, accessories, gift ideas and much more: visit AC Milan online Store!
